Beet-harvester.



W. K. LEWIS. BEET HARVESTER. APPILIOATION FILED AUG. 15, 1910.

998,296, Patented July 18,1911. 1 1 snmm-su2m 1.

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' j} y I @24 W. K. LEWIS. BEET HARVESTER. APPLICATION PILED'AUG. 15. 1910.

W. K. LEWIS. BEET HAEVEMER APPLICATION FILED AUG. 15. 1910.

Patented July 18, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

. 6 Mom/m1 W. K. LEWIS. BEBT HARVESTER. APPLICATION FILED AUG.15. 1910.

Patented July 18, 1911.

Witmeowo make and use the same,

- UNITED sTAT s firtTENT OFFICE t WILLIAM K. LEWIS, OF PLA TTEVILLE, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH 1'0"" DAVID T. BLEVINS, 0F WINDSOR, COLORADO. a

BEET-HARVESTER.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, lVrLLIAM K. LEWIS, a citizen of the United States, residin at the city of Platteville, county of \Veld, and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Beet- Harvesters; and I do declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, suclras will enable others skilled in the art'to which itappertains to reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of ,reference marked thereon, which fication.

My invention beet harvesters.

My improved construction is'adapted for pulling and elevating the beets. employed in connection with a topper of any suitable construction, since it is assumed that-the beets are topped before my machine is brought into requisition. A topping device, however, may be carried upon the same frame that supports my improved mechanism. It will also be understood that an apparatus may be connected with the rear extremity of the machine for piling the beets or for discharging them into vehicles driven along by the side of the machine. The mechanism herein shown and described, however, relates only to the digging and elevating of the beets.

Heretofore, so far as I am. aware, little difficulty has been experienced in digging or uprooting the beets, but much trouble has been encountered in elevating the beets to a sutficient heightfor either piling or delivering into wagons.

lVith my improved construction two plows or diggers are arranged to pass on opposite sides of the row of beets and as the machine travels over the field, these plows or diggers uproot the beets. Connected with the respective plows and extending upwardly therefrom are two" separated 'uides or guards which support the beets 1n the upright position as theyare uprooted by the plows.

relates to improvements in r Mounted above the upwardlyextending form apart of this speci-' Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 1 137 18, a 1911;? Application filed August 15,1910. Serial No. 577,295.

It may be scribed in detail.

.whereby chinery which handles the beets during the guards, is an elevator or conveyer provide with flights adapted to act upon the beet and cause them to travel upwardly between'j the guards. During this operation the:; guards as above indicated support the beets'g55 in the upright position or in approximately;

the same position whichthey occupied when in the ground. In fact the beets never change their position from the time they are pulled or lifted out of the ground, until they reach the upper extremity of thetroug'hj' formed by the two guards. They may thenf be allowed to drop downwardly to tli" groundor they may be delivered to a box. arrangedpto dump at stated 'intervals xvhere by the beets may be placed in piles ofan: desired size, or they may be delivered to a I elevator or conveyer which extends laterally'"' to a. wagon'or other vehicle. This ratus for piling or elevatingthe beets iiito"" wagons, has nothing to do with my, present invention and it is therefore neither illus trated in the drawing nor will it be The plows as well as the upwardly in clined guards connected therewith, are sup ported upon a laterally and vertically swing ing frame- The lateral swing'of the frame., f makes it practicable to gulde the plows" provision is made foruprootin that are out of the regular li'neof; U Without cut-ting or injuring theni.

One difliculty experienced with the dig P gers heretofore employed, is that no pro;

the beets vision hasbeen made for a lateral move' sa ment of the plows through the the driver of the machine, and the conse quence has been that beets which are some'-, what out of the regular lineof the rowffl are cut or broken by the plows, thus virtii Q0 allydestroying them for sugar-making pu poses, since it. is impossible to remove sand or dirt, and this dirt ruins the m l agency oi,

sugar-making operation. h broken by the plows are wasted. Hence the object of my improved apparatus is to over come this ditliculty and prevent the large: i.

Beets that are percenta'ge of waste which has heretofore};

resultedby the use of imperfect diggers. 10-7 Having briefly outlined my improved construction, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which is illus trated an embodiment thereof.

In this drawing Figure 1 is a side tion of my improved beet harvester showing the plows in position for digging or uprooting the beets. Fig. 2 is a detail view illustrating a pair of links of the elevator chain shown on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a cross section taken through the upwardly inclined guards and one run of the endless conveyor or elevator. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the machine, a. portion of the conveyor being broken away. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the machine taken approximately through the longitudinal center of the conveyer, the plow; and guards being shown in elevation. Fig. 45 is a vertical cross section taken on the lines 6-6 Fig. 5 looking toward the frontor in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 7 is a cross section taken through the guards showing a beet in place or in the position which it occupies during its upward travel. Fig. 8 is a similar view: showing a smaller beet in the same-position. Fig. 9 is a horizontal section taken on the line 9 -9 Fig. 5 looking downwardly, the parts being shown on a larger scale.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate the frame work of the machine which as shown in the drawing is composed of metal, having the general shape in plan view of a. rectangle. Its forward ektremity, however, is somewhat narrowed where it is connected with the bolster 6 of the front axle; while its rear extremity is somewhat. reduced as shown at 7. The special shape, however, of this frame work is not material. The frame-work 5 is supported upon a front axle S, a rear axle 9 and front and rear ground wheels 10 and 12.

Located within the area surrounded by the frame 5, is a laterally and vertically rocking or swinging frame 13, which as shown in the drawing is composed of metal, having side l t, a rear end member and a forward end member 16. As shown in the drawing the side members ltare farthest. apart at the rear where they join the end member 15. These side members approach each ot her slightly they extend forwardly and merge into the end member 16. This particular shape, however, is not material. This frame 13 is supported in the rear by a cross bar 17, which ismounted upon the main frame 5,

and passes through relatively large openings formed in the side-members 14, these openings being of safficicnt size to allow. the

frame '3 a limited degree of lateral or swinging movement, also a vertical movement or oscillation. The central part of the rear elevaend member 15 is connected as shown at 18 with a stationary transverse member 19, whose extremities are riveted to the side members of the main frame as shown at it). As shown in the drawing the connection be tween the members 15 and 19 is formed by a bolt- 91 passing through openings formed in the members 15' and 19. The head of the bolt engages member 15while its shank protrudes rearwardly beyond both members and is surrounded by a spring 22, which is interposed'between the member 19 and a stop washer 23, held in place by a nut 4t, threaded on the rear extremity of the bolt. This rear extension of the bolt together with the-coil spring looked as described, allows the frame 13 to swing both laterally and vertically, the connection 18 being loose enough for this purpose.

Upon the central part of the member It; of the frame 13 is mounted a cogged or toothed rack 24 which meshes-with a segmental gear 25 mounted upon a vertically disposed post 26, the gear being splincd on the post and therefore arranged to turn therewith.

Mounted on the post 26 just above the gear 25 is a cross bar 27 which is made fas to the post. From the opposite extremities of this cross bar leads rods 28, which are loosely connected with the cross bar at their forward extremities and at their rear extremities with a similarcross bar 29, which is centrally pivoted to a stationary bar tit) extending forwardly from the statioi'iary support 3l'upon which the drivers seat 32 is mounted. By virtue of this arrangement the member 29 is adapted to be easily manipulated by the feet of the drivw. In other words, by pressing upon either cxtremity of the member 29, the forwardly located cross bar 27 may be actuated suiticiently to give the post 26 a partial rotary moven'ient, thus imparting a similar move ment-to the gear 25 and a lateral swinging movement to the frame 1.3 by virtue of the fact that the gear meshes with the rack 34 n'ionntied on the forward extremity of the frame 13 as heretofore explained.

The post 26 journaled below the gear in the bottom member 33' of a stirrup shap d support 3 1, whose vertical side members 35 have their upper extremities riveted as shown at 2-56 to the top 37 of a frame member 63, provided with depending side parts 39', whose lower extremities are secured to the opposite sides of the main frame as shown at 40. This post 26; is journaled above the gear 24 in the member 37 of the frame 38. The upper extremity of the post 26 is bifurcated as shown 41 to rcceive .a lever 12, a fulcrum pin 43 passing through other and a small beet in Fig. 8.

"' while if it is Fm The forward. arm 44- of this lever is connected by a rod with a bracket 46 secured to the member 16 of the frame l3; while the rear arm it? of the lever projects within convenient reach of the driver occupying the seat 32. iilounted upon the upper portion of the post ibis a notched bar or quadrant lS-iulaptcd to receive a dog at) operated from a. hand piece 50 pivotedly connected with the lever in the usual manner as shown at 51. By the use of this lever the frame 13 may be swung laterally in either direction and also given an upward and downward movement, the motion during both operations constituting a sort of rocking movement upon the bolt 21 as a center, the frame 13 being further supported by the cro s bar 17 as heretofore explained.

Connected with the forward extremities ot' the side bars 1-tof the frame 13 are two depending members 52 which approach each as they extend downwardly, their lower extremities being secured to the plows or diggers 53, which are separated sutticiently to, straddle the beets during the uprooting operation. In other words, these plows or diggers enter the ground on each side of the beets and are downwardly in clined, their rear extremities being higl'iest. By virtue of this arrangement, as the plows engage a beet on opposite sides during the forward travel of the machine, the beets caused to travel upwardly in accordance with the inclination of the plows and in: this manner is uprooted.

Connected with the rear extremities of the plows, are upwardly inclined separated guard members 5-4:, which as shown in the drawing are composed of a number of rods or bars which are circular in cross section and manner. The elements of are so arranged that the upper edges of the guard members are farthest apart, the said members converging or approaching each other as tliey extend downwardly. By virtue of this arrangement it becomes practicable to construct theguard for use with beets of varying izes. This feature is illustrated in liigs. T and S, a large beet being shown in connection with the guards in .l ig. it the beet is lar e its npper'or larger portion will occupy a. more elcva ed nosition between the guards, all it will occiu'n-i a. lower position, but will nevertheless be retained by the guards and caused to travel upwardly therewith in the manner hereinafter explained. I i

The upper extremities of the guards ii?" are equipped loosely engage stationary brackets 57, the

said brackets having also theshape of a loop,

one member, .58, of which is engaged coi'inected together in any suitable these guards.

with loops'or eyes 56, which l l l l of the plows, whereby the llights (31 travel between the guards,

' to the upper extremities of the guards they may be dropped into a as may be desired.

The-upper sprocket wheel 62 is fast upon" are in position to" engage the beets and carry them forwardly rum and arrangement permit the guards during the vertical irectly above the guards is all- 59 composed of a chainf-70 with lights (51 located at suitchain is mounted cm and (33, one being located) extremities of the guards) and the other just abovc'and rearwardly which where round a shaft or journaled in boxes 65 mounted! upon the rear portion of t1 work. Upon this made fast a second sprocket wheel 66,

whichi is connected; by means of a chain (37 witha relatively large sprocket wheel (38, fast on the rear axl in the rotation of the axle 9 1111011 the ground wheels. 12

(54 and from the latter veyer 59.

at thclower extremity gated; openings frame members '71 forming apart.- 72 secured to the side members swinging frame 13. journaled in an auxil depending arms 74. through which the shaft 69 passes. upper extrennty cu m. pped with ya secured in It \\'Illbe observed and the top member 79 of construction a The sprocket. wheel (33 which is locatedl 't' the endless con veycr chain, is mounted upon a shaftwhose extremities engage vertically elon- 100 70 formed in dependin of a yoke 1% of the The shaft (39 is 'also iary yoke 73 'whose 'lO5 arry bearings '75 76 of the yoke 73 is" stem 77. whose lower eX- trcmity is connected with the top ofthe 'llt) This stem projects? passes through an transverse member 79'" projects abovethe 'yokei" Applied to the""-115 above the partanadjustablc tension? secured in the desired" A'fter' t is properly re that the spring 77 is, interposed between the top of the yoke the yoke 72. fIhis'Tf nd' arrangement allows th'e 5 by the eye 56 of the guard. This construc- 65 receptacle 019 80 any kind, or allowed to fall upon theg re main frame' i shaft is mounted and e 9 of the machine. -Hence' 99 the machine travels over the field, resulting which) are fast, motion transmitted from the rear axle to the shaft to the endless coirshaft. GJwith its sprocket wheel (53 which is engaged by the lower portion oi." the cndles's conveyer chain, to move vertically in the described the conveyeris adapted to adjust". l

itself automatically to the various sizes of tin uprooted beets with which it comes in contact; while at the same time it is acted it t; upon not only by gravity but by the tension oi: the spring 77, whereby it is maintained in operative. relation when the smallest beet is uprooted. In other words, the conveyer is adapted to act upon any beet, no matter -'J.5 how 'largeior how small, which enters or passes between the members 55 of the guards -11.

\Yhile my .nnpmved conveyer chain may be of any suitable or desirable constru-tion.

I have illustrated in the drawing (see Figs.

Q diggers.

cross bar 29 is within convenient reach of the feet. By'pressing forwardly upon either end of the bar 21-), the swinging frame 13 may be moved laterally in either direction for the purpose of properly guiding the plows to prevent them from injuring beets that may be somewhat out of the direct line of the row. This same function may be'aceomplished by manipulating the lever 4:2 in a lateral direction or so as to impart a partial rotary movement to the post 26. l nrthermore, by manipulating the lever 42 vertically, it will be understood that a vertically swinging movement may be imparted to the frame 1;) together with the plows or it will be understood that the lift- 3 mg of the plows together with the cone.

2 and 3) two links A and B pivotedly eon- 'neetcd as shown at U, and from this lll1tS p are considerably elevated, the conveyer may tration it will be nmlerstood that the convcver chain includes links A and 13.

25 [l]; ts (31 are mounted upon pins 1) of the links 15 of the chain, the said flights as shown in the drawing being composed of metal plates formed in the proper shape for advantageously carrying beets upwardly between the guard members 54 during the operation of the machine.

and operation of my improved beet harvester will be readily understood. As hereto The 5 sponding movement imparted to the guards 54-, may result in imparting a similar movement to the endless conveyor. However, the plows may be lifted a short: distance without disturbing the conveyor, but if the plows be correspondiugly actuated by virtue of the slots 70 formed in the depending frame members 71 as heretofore explained. It is evident that the plows may be supported in individual 1 the desired position, by use of the lever 42 and the quadrant 48. the said elements being employed to perform their usual or ordinary functions. From the foregoing description the use i llaving thus described my invention, what I. claim is: I

fore indicated, it must be remembered that the tons of the beets will first be removed.

In other words, I contemplate as heretofore stated, the mounting of a topper upon the forward extremity of the frame work of the 40 harvester, the topper being so located as to remove the tops in advance of the plows or diggers. Then as the machine is drawn over the held, the plows occupying a position on each side of the row of beets, the latter are uprooted, being lifted out of the ground by virtue of the downward inclination from the rear extremities of the plows I to their forward extremities. The beets are then successively carried from a position between the plows-to a position between the guards 54-, where they are brought 1. The combination.wa-h a main frame work mounted upon ground wheels, of dig- ""ers for uprooting the beets, guards extending upwardly from the diggers and inalinement therewith, the upper extremities ot the guards being movably connected with the within range of the flights til of the conj veyer cham, the said chain being kept in rnoi tion during the operation of the machine by as virtue of the construction and arrangen'ients of the parts heretofore described.

The person in charge of the machine 00- cupies a position upon the seat 32, so that the From this explanation it Will be understoodthat I the conveyor whereby the manipulation of frame work, and a laterally swinging connection between the diggers and the main frame work, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a main frame work, of separated diggers for uprooting the beets, guards connected with the diggers and extending upwardly therefrom, the guards being in alinement with the respective diggers, the upper extremities of the guards being movably connected with the frame, alaterally movable connect-ion between the diggers amt the frame, an endless conveyer mounted above the guards and carrying [lights adapted to travel between. the guards, means for imparting travel to' the conveyer from the ground wheels of the machine, and a laterally swinging connection between the frame work and the forward extremity of the latter is adapted to harmonize with that. of the diggers during their lateral swinging motion.

3. A machine of the class described comprising a main frame work mounted on ground wheels, at laterally swinging frame mounted on the main frame, diggers for up; root ing the beets an. endless conveyer having ilights cooperating with the diggersfor el vating the beets. thedigger ei ng'equipped with separated guards, extending upwardly from the diggers on opposite sides of the tlights of the lower run of the conveyor, a connection between the diggers and the laterally swinging frame, and a connection between the lower extremity of the endless convever and the laterally swinging frame for the purpose set forth.

The combination with a frame work, of laterally swinging separated diggers mounted thereon and adapted to pass on opposite sides of the row of beets, guards having their lower extremities connected with the diggers and extending upwardly therefrom and in alinemcnt therewith, the said guards having their upper extremities movabl y connected with the framework, and a conveyor cooperating with the guards for elevating the beets substantially as described.

The combination with a frame work, of laterally swinging separated diggers mounted on the frame work and having correspondingly separated guards extending upwardly from the diggers and movably connected with the frame work, the guards and diggers being supported upon a frame work, and an endless traveling conveyor mounted above the guards and having flights traveling between the guards for the purpose of elevating the beets, substantially as described (5. The combination with a main frame work mounted upon ground wheels, of separated diggers carried bythe frame work and equipped with-separatedguards extending upwardly from the diggers and movably connected withthe fran'iework, the said diggers being mountedto have a lateral swinging n'iovement, and an endless traveling conveyor mounted above the guards and having flights arranged to travel between the guards and cooperating therewith for elevating the beets, the lowerextrcn'iity of the conveyor being vertically movable and spring tensioned vertically, substantially as described. 3 p

The combination with a main frame work mounted on ground wheels, of laterally -winging separated diggers carried by the frame work and guards connected with the diggers and extending upwardly therefrom and connected with the future work to ha vc a limited degree of"swinging movement, the guards being separated and inclined toward each other transversely-dmvnwardly from their upper edges, the guards being arranged to receive the beets uprooted by the diggers, and an endless traveling conveyor having flights adapted to move upwardly between the guards for the purpose of elevating thd beets, substantially as described. 8L-II1 a beetharvester the combination of diggers, a chute extending up 'ardly from the diggers,".an endless traveling conveyor mounted above the chute and having flights cooperating with the chute for elevating the beets, a shaft for supporting ranged slots formed in the frame work for receiving the said shaft, a yoke in which the shaft is Journaled, a second yoke extending above the first named yoke and a spring interposed between the two yokes, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a main frame work, of an auxiliary frame mounted to swing laterally and vertically on the main frame, a gear journaled on the main frame work, a toothed rack *arried by the laterally swinging frame work, a lever in operative relation with the said gear for actuatingthe gear to impart the lateral swingingmovement to the swinging frame, the said lever also being in operative relation with the saidframe for imparting verti'almovement thereto and uprooting means carried by'the swinging frame, substantially as de-- scribed.

10. The combination with a main frame, of a laterally swinging land vertically movable. frame mounted thereon, a gearing connection between the two frames for imparting swinging movement to the auxiliary frame, uprooting means connected with the swinging frame, a post journaled on the main frame, one of the gears l'eing connected to rotate with the post, and means for imparting partial rotations to the post in reverse directions for the purpose of actuating the swinging frame, the said means being also in operative relation with the auxiliary frame for the purpose of vertically anoving the same, substantially as describcd.

11. The combination with a main frame Work, of an auxiliary frame laterally and vertically movable thereon, a gearing connection between the two frames for imparting the lateral movement to the swinging frame, uprootingmeans carried by tho movable framc, a post journalcd in the main frame and connected in operative relation with one of the gears, and a lever connected with the post to rotate the latter in reverse directions, the lever being also connected with themovable frame for imparting the vertical swinging movement thereto substantially as described.

12. The combination with a main frame, of an auxiliary frame mounted on the main frame to swing both laterally and vertically, a gearing connection between the two frames the lower extremity of the conveyer, vertically ar-,

1 ing frame for imparting the \"ertical swing- 10 5 ing increment to the latter, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

' WILLIAM K. LEVIS.

\Vitnesses T. B. GORMLEY, Mrs. F. L. BAMFORTH. 

